By JOSEPH KELLARD
"We are pursuing this proposal because, according to many of our T Mobile customers and our studies, there is a significant gap in coverage in this area," said T Mobile spokesman Joe Walsh.
Keith Brown, a lawyer for Omnipoint Communications, the umbrella corporation who is making the proposal on T Mobile¹s behalf, asked the zoning board to postpone the June 14 hearing on the proposal because two expert witnesses were unavailable to testify. The board agreed to reschedule the hearing for Nov. 15.
The board gave about 10 residents who attended the hearing guidelines regarding the grounds on which they can legally pursue their opposition to T Mobile's proposal.
While a main concern listed on the residents' petition is the effects they believe the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the wireless antennas may have on neighbors' health, the board excluded opposition on these grounds based on the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The acts states that according to Federal Communications Commission regulations, "no state or local government or instrumentality may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions ..."
The residents, some of whom live on two cul-de-sacs that abut the office building property, Joann and Cheslan courts, were told by a zoning board member that their best tactic is to recommend an alternative location for the antennas.
Another of the residents' concerns listed on their petition is the possibility that antennas near their homes would depreciate the value of their properties. "Our property values will go down while their profits go up," said Robert Grunin, a resident of Joann Court.
"I'm not a real estate appraiser," Walsh replied, "but a number of reports show that having these service antennas in your area actually increases the value to people's property."
"If T Mobile's proposal goes through, what's to stop Nextel and other companies from coming in?" resident Larry Firestone asked.
The proposed site is across the street from an apartment building above Ocean Chemist pharmacy, at Long Beach Road and Windsor Parkway, on which Nextel Communications proposed to mount the same number of antennas for the same purpose in 2002. However, in a notice of decision dated Aug. 2, 2002, the zoning board denied Nextel's proposal, in part, on the grounds that the company "did not adequately justify a need for the base station at this location."
Walsh declined to reveal how much T Mobile is offering to pay the owner of the REDCO building, Richard Lituchy, to mount antennas there. Lituchy did not return phone calls for comment on the proposal. Scott Tokofsky, owner of Roasty's restaurant, said he was unaware of the proposal, but added that he wished residents had approached him about their petition. "It's not safe for the community, obviously," Tokofsky said. "I'm sure there's an effect to it. I wouldn't see it as a positive thing."
Despite the fact that they cannot fight the proposal on the grounds of health concerns, residents will still use them to try to whip up support for their cause. They point to the fact that the building where the antennas would be mounted is next to a medical center, St. Andrew's Church, and a school at St. Anthony's Church, both on Anchor Avenue. Residents wrote in their petition that "there is much uncertainty regarding the long term exposure to [electromagnetic radiation]," and that "the scientific community admits that it does not have enough information to guarantee the EM is harmless. We do not want to be the guinea pigs in a laboratory."
"As a standard part of all applications, all T Mobile radio antennas are well below the FCC's standard for [radio] emissions," Walsh said, pointing to studies done by the World Health Organization and others that show such antennas do not endanger human health.
Grunin explained that the residents plan to obtain a map of the service gap area, determine the radius of the gap, and search for alternative sites. "From an emotional and community point of view, maybe we'll make a difference and maybe we won't," he said, "but at least our voice will be heard."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
